UN “disturbed” by death in prison of Indian activist Stan Swamy | Human rights news

Swamy, who was jailed for nine months without trial under India’s counterterrorism law, died in a Mumbai hospital on Monday.

The UN says it is deeply disturbed by the death in pre-trial detention of Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Indian rights activist and Jesuit priest.

Swamy, who was jailed for nine months without trial under India’s counterterrorism law, died in a Mumbai hospital on Monday ahead of a bail hearing.

The priest, who campaigned for marginalized tribal communities, was arrested last year on suspicion of links to a banned radical left-wing group that police accused of inciting violence in Maharashtra state in 2018.

“We are deeply saddened and disturbed by the death of Father Stan Swamy, 84,” Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters.

Swamy was denied bail despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses. He was admitted to hospital in May with coronavirus and suffered cardiac arrest over the weekend.

The priest had been detained under the Prevention of Illegal Activities Act (UAPA), which allows prolonged detention for questioning.

In this November 12, 2020 photo, a Christian nun, center, holds a sign and shouts slogans with others demanding the release of Stan Swamy [File: Aijaz Rahi/AP]

Swamy was the oldest of a dozen, mostly academics and human rights activists, accused of violence in 2018 and jailed under strict law.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has used the law to arrest activists, journalists, students and others in what critics say was an attempt to silence dissent.

“High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and independent UN experts have repeatedly raised the cases of Father Stan and 15 other human rights defenders associated with the same events with the Indian government over the past three years, and have requested their release from pre-trial detention, “Throssell said.

“The high commissioner also raised concerns over the use of UAPA in relation to human rights defenders – a law that Father Stan was challenging in Indian courts days before his death.

Throssell said given the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries, including India, should release all those detained without sufficient legal basis, including those detained simply for expressing dissenting opinions.

“We underline, once again, the High Commissioner’s appeal to the Indian government to ensure that no one is detained for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” said the spokesperson.

#cartoon @ India time #StanSwamy pic.twitter.com/h1TRAX5ih9

– Sandeep Adhwaryu 🇮🇳 (artCartoonistSan) July 6, 2021

The government has previously denied accusations of mistreatment of Swamy in court hearings and said the law should be allowed to run its course.

But Swamy, who has denied any connection to an illegal group, had repeatedly requested bail, recently telling court on a video conference that his health had deteriorated in prison and that he would die soon.

He said he had difficulty eating and drinking because of his Parkinson’s disease and had asked the court to allow him to use a straw and a sip.

The court granted the request after nearly three weeks.

A leader of the main opposition party in Congress, Jairam Ramesh, criticized the government for the death of “such a passionate social justice activist”.

“Who in the Indian state apparatus will be held responsible for this tragedy? Make no mistake, it was the Indian state that killed Father Stan Swamy, ”Ramesh said.